Rail drilling machine



April 11, 1939.

F. C, LAVARACK ET AL RAIL DRILLING MACHINE Original Filed May 7, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l April 11, 1939 F. c. I AvARAcK ET AL 2,154,244-

RAIL DRILLNG `MACHINE Original Filed May?, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 |lllllll' 'I O QL NEW N 2 O Q Q 1 I E w r N lllrom||||l u I H g I s. S O- @UWM llfl'" i N i o QQ l .DI

Q INYNTO E. .Q04 7 Q I? ATTORNEYA April 11, 1939- F. c. LAvARAcK ET AL 2,154,244

RAIL DRILLING MACHINE original Filed May 7, 19,36 4 sheets-sheet 3 April 11,4939. F. c. LAVARAGK Em 2,154,244

RAIL DRILLING MACHINE Original Filed May 7, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 O CP EN'roR,

74M f. SW2 pao ATTORNE Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAIL DRILLING MACHINE Application May 7, 1936, Serial No. 78,370 Renewed September 8, 1938 1 claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in drilling machines and has particulr reference to a machine for drilling railroad r s.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact, durable, emcient device which can be `quickly and easily attached to the head of a railroad rail for the purpose of drilling holes therein at proper predetermined points. These holes are put in the rail preferably at the side of the head for the purpose of enabling electric circuit bonds or ties to connect the ends of adjacent rails so as to establish the necessary electric circuit for the railroad signalling device now em ployed.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus in which the parts can be quickly manipulated to adjust the device with proper relation to the rail and to adjust the drill with relation n to the point of drilling.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the depth of a hole to be drilled can be predetermined and quickly attained without any liability to drill too deep a hole.

A further object is to provide simple and eicient means whereby in the event of an approaching train, the device can be quickly and easily removed from the rail without a liability of any confusion in the mind of the operator causing delay in such removal.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from a consideration of the specication hereinafter when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and which illustrate a present preferred form of the invention.

In the general contemplation of the invention,

it is to be observed that it includes a frame com-` prising a plurality of plates which can be 'set on top of .a rail and having a plurality of cooperating elements which can be manually operated with speed and efficiency to grip the rail and hold the device thereon after the apparatus has been adjusted in the proper angular relation to the rail. Simple manipulatable elements permit the drill and its operating elements to be adjusted both vertically and horizontally in a simple and easy manner so as to align the drill with the point at i which the hole is to be made in the rail.

Equally simple manipulatable elements permit the drill itself to be advanced to the wo-rking point by hand and then to be definitely connected to operatable gearing so as to be rotated to drill and advance slowly as the drilling takes place. The

rotation of the drill is effected by a crank connection operated by the person controlling the apparatus. A simple gage arrangement connected with the drill permits the exact depth of a hole to be achieved without over running.

The crank for rotating the drill in its working functions is rotated in a predetermined direction. The manipulatable element employed to advance the drill by hand to the Work point is preferably rotated in the opposite direction and consequently this element, in order to withdraw the drill from the rail must be rotated in the same direction as the main crank is moved in drilling. This particular feature is important because as` the operator is turning the main crank toV drill he may at any moment be required to remove the device from the rail in a hurry and in order to do this he merely has to transfer his hand from the main handle to the auxiliary manipulating device and keep on rotating it in the same dlrection. 'Ihis simplicity of operative relation thus prevents any psychological confusion which might result if the rotations of these elements to achieve the above mentioned results were other than as stated.

A further feature of the invention resides in the provision of elements to insure, in the adjustment of the parts, that the drill is always kept in the proper angular relation to the work even though it is moved for adjustment to a new position.

A further feature of the invention concerns a simple construction whereby the reactive thrust of the drill is properly compensated for.

The preferred form of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine mounted in operative position on a rail; Fig. 2 is an end elevation, looking to the right in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section taken on the line III-III of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through the machine and enlarged; Fig.

.5 is a vertical cross-section taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a horizontal longitudinal section taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 4; and Fig. '7 is a vertical cross-section taken on the line VII- VII of Fig. 6.

As shown in the drawings the preferred form of the invention involves a machine which is to be applied to the head of a rail l0 for the purpose of drilling holes in the side of the rail head to receive the ends of electrical conductors forming the electrical circuit bonds between the ends of adjacent rails. This apparatus includes a plate Il which is disposed on top of the rail and has a longitudinal vertical wall I2 and side end walls I3 and I4 together with downwardly depending feet I5 and I6 and rearwardly extending wings I1 and I8 having longitudinally disposed ears I9 and 20 with faces disposed parallel to the side of the rail I6 for the purposes to be hereinafter mentioned. Tubes 2l and 22 extend horizontally at different levels and parallel between the side walls I3 .and I4. A threaded shaft 23 extends horizontally between the walls I3 and I4 and at one end there is xed thereto a hand wheel 24 whereby the shaft 23 may beA turned. The threads on the shaft 23 are not threadably engaged with the walls i3 and I4 but are free to turn therein. The other end of the shaft is provided with a nut 25 fixed thereto.

Arms 25 and 26 extend forwardly in a parallel relation from the wall I2 and a tubular member 21 extends therebetween. This tubular member acts as a bearing for a collar 28 on the upper end of a depending bar 29. At its lower end this bar is provided with a set-screw 30 extending toward the adjacent side face of the rail head I0. The bar 29 is provided with an opening 3I through which a bolt 32 extends. This bolt extends through an opening in the plate I2 and has its head 33 lying back of said opening. The opposite end of the bolt 32 is provided with suitable nuts 34 adjacent to the lower end 35 of operating arm on handle 36. The face of the handle 36 at its lower end adjacent the bar 29 is provided with cam surfaces 31 cooperating with similar cam surfaces 38 on the adjacent face of the bar 29. A spring 39 extends between the wallV I2 and the opposite face of the bar 29 tending to swing the bar 29 around the tube 21 always to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, whereby the tendency is to move the set-screw 3|] away from the face of the rail. It will be observed that by moving the handle 36 in one direction the bar 29 will be swung to the right against the action ofspring 39 to engage the set-screw 36 with the rail whereas movement in the opposite direction will release the cams and permit the spring 39 to move the bar 29 and the set-screw 30 away from the rail. The dependent feet I5 and I5 on the rail engaging plate II will be seen in Fig.

1 cooperating with the opposite face of the railA and with the set-screw to firmly clamp the plate II in any desired position at the top of the rail and this operation can be effected very quickly.

and easily by the manipulation of the handle 26. A quick movement of the handle in one direction will firmly fasten the plate in position after the desired position has been assumed and will as quickly release the plate so that the whole` device may bev lifted from the rail in a second.

As shown inV Fig. 3, there is formed a rectangular shaped open frame 40 having spaced vertical limbs and horizontal connecting members. This frame, as seen particularly in Fig. 4, has forwardly extending apertured lugs 4I and 42 adapted to embrace and slide along the tubular members 2| and 22. It also has a forwardly projecting Vapertured lug 43 interiorly threaded to` with two `spaced rods or tubular members 44 andv 45 spaced parallel to each other and vertically within the outline of the frame 40. A threaded shaft 45 is also disposed vertically and journalled in the cross members of the frame 45. The lower end of the shaft 45 is provided with a nut 41 fixed thereto and the upper end of the shaft 46 is provided with a hand or wing nut 4S. The threads and the shaft do not engage the cross pieces'threadably but the shaft is free to turn in the cross pieces. A pedestal member 49 shown in Fig. l, has a forwardly extending vertical flange or plate 55 on which is disposed an enlarged head 5I in horizontal position. This head 5I has apertures through which the rods 44 and 45 and the threaded shaft 45 pass. l threadably engaged with its bore in the head 5I so that the turningV of the wing nut 48 will turn the shaft 46 and vertically move the head 5I in a iixed vertical direction guided by the action of, the engagement between the head 5I and the rods 4'4 and 45. In this manner therefore pedestalmember 49 can be vertically adjusted. As shown in Fig. 6. the lower end of the pedestal member 49 is provided with laterally extending wings 52 and 53 spaced parallel to and in front of the wings or ears I9 and 29. Suitable cups of bearing members 54 and 55 fastened in any desired manner to the wings i9 and 26 bear against the adjacent faces of the lower end of the' pedestal member 49 which is thus additionally guided. in its vertical movement.

To the lower rear face of the pedestal or frame' member 49 a casing 56 is bolted. This casing contains the drilling device and its operative mechanism. To the rear of this casing the lugs 51 and 58 are attached and these lugs act as bearing members for legs 59 and 60 which can be adjusted in their bearings and rest on the tie 6I at their lower ends to" support the drilling casing at its outer end in the desired right angular position with respect to the rail.

The drill 52 is fastened b-y set-screw 63 in the end of a shaft 64 which is journalled in a bearing in the lower end of flange member 49 and in a ball bearing unit 55 in the end of casing 56. The outer end of this shaft 64 is threaded at 66 to receive a gage element 61 in the form of a hollow sleeve adjustably threaded on to the shaft 64 and having a plurality of longitudinal slots 68 therein. By threading the gage onto the shaft so that the end of the drill extends beyond the end of the gage the desired amount, the depth of the hole to be drilled can be accurately determined. When the gage is set in the required position then the set-screw is adjusted in the nearest slot to hold the gage in this position and to hold the drill in the end of the shaft. A gear 69 isfastened to shaft 64 by key 'I0 slidable in a key way 1I which extends the full length of the shaft 64. This permits the shaft 64 torotate with the gear but permits the shaft to slide longitudinally with respect thereto. The gear v 69 is engaged by a chain 12 extending upwardly around a toothed wheel 13 rotatably fastened to the flange member 49 and operable by means of a handle 14. 'I'he movable member 15 of the ball bearing unit 65 is rotatable with the shaft 64 through the key 1!) and a gear 16 is fastened to the shaft 64 by the key 10 and meshes with a, gear 11 loosely mounted on a secondary shaft 18. A smaller gear 19 is fastened to the gear 'I1 and rotates therewith and meshes with a larger gear 80 independently rotatable on shaft 64.. A smaller gear 8l is fastened to gear 80 around shaft 54 and meshes with a larger gear 82 fas- The shaft 45 i's tened .to a hub 83 which is fastened to the secondarly shaft 18. At the other end of shaft 18 is fastened thereto a gear 84 which meshes with a gear 85 fastened to a rotatable nut 86. 'I'his nut is journalled in the opposite end of the casing 56 in a ball bearing unit V81. This nut 86 is interiorly threaded to engage with the exterior threads 88 on an auxiliary shaft 89 which extends outwardly through a hub 90 on the end of the casing 56 and has fastened thereto a handle 9| by means of which the auxiliary shaft can be turned when desired.

llhe auxiliary shaft 89 is provided with a long notch or slot 92 (see Fig. 5) into which a latch pin 93 is adapted to extend. This pin is backed by a spring 94 in a laterally disposed boss 95 attached to the hub 90. A handle 96 is fastened to the outer end of the latch pin 93 and has a tongue 91 adapted in certain positions to lie in a slot 98 on the top of the boss. In Fig. 5, the latch pin is shown withdrawn from the groove 92 so that the auxiliary shaft 89 can be turned by handle 9|, but when the groove 92 is lined up with the end of latch pin 93 and the handle 96 is turned to permit tongue 91 to extend into the slot 98 then the spring 94 will force the pin 93 forward to lie in the groove 92 and lock the auxiliary shaft 89 against rotation so that thereafter it can not be manually operated but is ready to be moved longitudinally forward by the action of the rotatable nut 86.

The shaft 64 and the auxiliary shaft 89 are associated and are axially aligned. The inner end of shaft 64 is provided with a bore 99 into which is screwed a hollow sleeve having a head |9| A threaded bolt |02 has its head |03 lying in the bore 99 and extending through the hollow sleeve to be threaded into the end of auxiliary shaft 89 and fastened therein by a setscrew |04. Around the shouldered end of auxiliary shaft 89 is disposed a ball thrust bearing unit one element of which bears against a shoulder on an end ofvauxiliary shaft 89, the other element of which bears against the adjacent head I 0I of the hollow sleeve I 00. This thrust bearing between the two sections 64 and 89 will take up the reaction or thrust of the drill along the shaft as the drilling operation takes place.

In the operation of the device it becomes desirable to place the apparatus in a proper position with respect to the top of the rail, in order that a suitable hole of predetermined depth can be bored in the rail head. To this end the hand handle 36 is turned in the necessary direction to move the set-screw 30 away from the drill 62 and the machine is placed so that the plate I 9 lies on top of the rail as shown in Fig. 1. The legs 59 and 60 are then adjusted to support the rear end of the machine. at the proper height to give the desired axial slope to the drill. When the proper angle is obtained, the handle 36 is turned in the opposite direction to force the head screw 39 against the rail and thus cooperate with the feet I5 and I3 to hold the machine firmly in position on the rail head.

Before the machine is actually put on top of the rail the gage 61 has been adjusted on the shaft 64 so that the proper length of the drill 62 extends beyond the end of the gage depending upon the depth of the hole which it is desired to drill. The latch pin 93 is Withdrawn from the notch 92 in the shaft 89 by pulling the handle 96 outwardly and giving it a quarter turn so that it assumes the position shown in Fig, 5. With this position of the parts, the handle9l can be operated to rotate the shaft 89 and consequently the shaft 34. The rotation of the shaft 89 will preferably be such that a clockwise rotation of the handle is necessary in order to retract the drill from the Work and consequently counterclock motion of the handle 9| is necessary to manually advance the drill to the work. This relation of the movement of handle 9| is of importance since the handle 14 is turned clockwise to actuate the gearing to advance the shaft 64 longitudinally through the cooperation of, nut S6, because if an operator is using the machine on the rail and drilling the hole in the rail when a train comes along it is necessary to remove the machine from the rail with great rapidity. To do this it is merely necessary to swing the handle 36 to release the set-screw 30, then the hand is taken off the handle 14 and grasps the handle 9| and continues to turn it in the same direction, namely, clockwise to Withdraw the drill. This permits the operator to change from one handle to another and continue his hand motion in the same direction to achieve the required high speed of the removal of the device from the rail. If it were necessary for the operator to think or remember that the handle 9| should be moved in a different direction than the handle 14 in removing the device from the rail, it would tend to cause confusion.

Assuming then that the device has been adjusted in the proper position and fastened to the rail head the handle 9| is turned in a counterclock direction to advance the drill to the face of the rail. Then the latch pin 93, by turning the handle 96, is allowed to drop into the notch 92. This prevents the rotation o-f shaft 89 by manual means but makes it ready for movement through the nut 86. At the same time the nut 48 is turned to adjust the drill at the proper vertical levelv with respect to the rail and the handle 24 is turned to similarly adjust the drill at the proper point in the horizontal plane. After these adjustments have been made, the handle 14 is turned in a clockwise direction thus' turning the gear 69 and the shaft 64 to effect the drilling operation. The advance of the shaft 64 is affected by the pushing motion axially of the shaft 89 by the rotation of nut B6 through the intermediary of the gearing described. It will be seen that the shaft 64 can rotate under power independent of Whether the co-axially disposed shaft 89 is rotating o-r not. As the drilling continues the front face of thel gage 61 Will eventually abut the face of the rail and prevent further advancement of the drill.

Although a principal use of the machine may well be the forming of an orifice in the head of the rail, it is to be understood that the machine is also adapted for drilling an orice in the web of the rail. When it is desired to drill an orifice in the web of the rail the drill is adjusted to the position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 which shows the drill after it has passed through the web of the rail. This adjustment is obtained by means of` the: screw 46 and the wing nut 48. When drilling the webl of the rail it will be unnecessary to use the gage 61 and consequently it is screwed back so as to allow the drill to pass entirely through the web. 'I'he clamping, operating and removal o-f the machine is the same when drilling the webof the rail as when drilling the head of the rail.

It will therefore be seen that this invention contemplates a simple rugged, efficient device which canfbe operated.- in a simple easy'manner. Even an unskilled workman could very quickly and readily adjust it onto a rail and as quickly and easily remove it therefrom. The adjustments to set the device on the rail and to adjust the drill in the proper position with respect to the work points are achieved by very few and very simple manual operations, therefore, the time required to drill the rails is reduced to a minimum and the skill required of the person operating the device is also reduced to a minimum.

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to a present preferred forni thereof it is not to be limited to such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects. Hence it is. desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language of the appended claim.

What We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

' In a'rail drilling machine, in combination: a drill spindle adapted to receive yand hold a drill at one end and formed at the other end with a longitudinal screw threaded cavity; means to support and rotate the spindle; a feed shaft, said feed shaft formed with a screw threaded cavity in one end and formed to receive an end thrust ball bearing; means for rotating the feed shaft for moving the drill spindle longitudinally; a hollow sleeve formed with an external screw thread and with a head screwed into the cavity in the end of the spindle; an end thrust ball bearing positioned between the said head and the end of the feed screw whereby it receives the thrust between the spindle and the feed screw; and a bolt formed with a head bearing against the inner end of the hollow sleeve and passing through the hollow sleeve and screw threaded into the adjacent end of the feed screw; and means for preventing said bolt from turning.

FREDERICK C. LAVARACK. BENJANIIN SCHLESINGER. 

